A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multi-master systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods for reliable and fault-tolerant selection of bus mastership.
B. Description of Related Art
A long-felt need in multi-master systems is determining which of several potential masters has control of the system. Conventional systems use different techniques to address this need. For example, a typical technique may include the assertion of a master signal by one of the masters to indicate mastership.
A problem common to these conventional systems is that failures, such as bent pins or burned out components, and spurious inputs due to noise, for example, can cause confusion as to mastership and possibly lead to disruptions in the operation of the system. For example, failures may cause multiple potential masters to assert mastership at the same time. This may cause confusion as to which of the potential masters is the true master.
As a result, there exists a need for systems and methods that facilitate the conveyance of mastership within a multi-master system such that no single point of failure or spurious input can disrupt the operation of the system.